Preview Deus Ex: Human Revolution Talking up the possibilities

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Deus Ex: Human Revolution; Eidos Montreal

<p>Joystiq had <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/09/deus-ex-human-revolution-preview-talking-up-the-possibilities/" target="_blank">some hands-on time</a> with Deus Ex: human revolution and used the opportunity to play through the same quest several times using different approaches.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Learn that conversations are Mass Effect-style except better because you don't have to guess what <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Shepard</span> Jensen is actually going to say.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A former partner of Jensen's is the receptionist, demoted for something related to your past. Somehow, you'll have to gain his favor by choosing the appropriate dialogue commands. When given a choice in the conversation, you'll see big key words appear on the screen, not unlike in<em> Mass Effect.</em><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/game/mass-effect"><em></em></a> A quick glance should give you an idea of the end result, but <em>Human Revolution</em> goes a step further by providing your full response at the bottom of the screen. That way, there's no confusion over what your character will say when selecting an option.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You finally can see what your character is going to say in a dialogue! That's what I call innovation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They seem impressed with the distinct ways of handling said quest:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Each playthrough of the level felt radically different, a testament to how the game adapts to whatever style you wish to pursue. I left the demo with a number of unanswered questions -- how do your actions affect later missions? Does each level truly offer the same level of freedom? There's a staggering ambition behind <em>Human Revolution</em>. With the right execution, Eidos Montreal has a real opportunity to fulfill the promise of <em>Deus Ex</em>, and introduce a new generation of fans to the franchise.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com/#15928">RPGWatch</a></p>

 

[commie]

So this is the appeal to the 'hardcore' that we've been hearing about?

Shit, the way they hype this shows that it is about the only pseudo-concession to literate players that the game will have.

 

[Reject_666_6]

I have an admission to make: I have never played a Deus Ex game.

This sort of makes his opinion unreliable. I think that a seasoned gamer would have a different opinion on non-linearity than somebody who's never seen it before and is impressed by everything about it.

If Deus Ex is considered such a great game by the mainstream, then how come no big magazine can find a reviewer who's played DX at least more than once?

 

[Cenobyte]

Most gaming "journalists" nowadays are most likely way too young to have any first hand experience with early 2000/late 1990 games. Plus, you know, the graphics are horrible :D

 

[Azrael the cat]

So this is the appeal to the 'hardcore' that we've been hearing about?

Shit, the way they hype this shows that it is about the only pseudo-concession to literate players that the game will have.

When did they ever say that they were trying to appeal to the 'hardcore'?

In fact, since when was Deus Ex ever a game aimed at the 'hardcore'?

Since when did 'appealing to the hardcore' mean cosmetic-only C+C (same dialogue at same time by different face!), ultra-easy combat even when playing on realistic, energy-recharge stations littered all over the latter half of the game so that you can spam your augs without worrying, absurd numbers of health kits and batteries even on realistic, health regen only 6 hours into the game that is so powerful you can gain health while eating bullets on realistic (with so many batteries and recharge-bots that you can spam it regularly), stealth that is completely unaffected by lighting/shadow, retarded AI, no 'wrong' choices, hardly any diplomatic options, no dialogue skills whatsoever, easy-mode dragon-sword and easy-mode prod (that enables you to stunlock every single enemy in the game), and mostly linear dialogues with the very occasional (but completely cosmetic aside from getting more or less ammo) dialogue option?

And yes, Deus Ex is still my favourite game of all time.

But it was never a 'hardcore' title. Whatever criticisms may be valid for the franchise reboot, criticising it for not being 'hardcore' either is a bit silly.

 

[Jaedar]

stealth that is completely unaffected by lighting/shadow

You're thinking of some other game. Deus ex let you stand right in front of someone if it was dark enough.

 

[waywardOne]

i'm glad they included key words so i know what to pay attention to.

 

[Forest Dweller]

So this is the appeal to the 'hardcore' that we've been hearing about?

Shit, the way they hype this shows that it is about the only pseudo-concession to literate players that the game will have.

When did they ever say that they were trying to appeal to the 'hardcore'?

In fact, since when was Deus Ex ever a game aimed at the 'hardcore'?

Since when did 'appealing to the hardcore' mean cosmetic-only C+C (same dialogue at same time by different face!), ultra-easy combat even when playing on realistic, energy-recharge stations littered all over the latter half of the game so that you can spam your augs without worrying, absurd numbers of health kits and batteries even on realistic, health regen only 6 hours into the game that is so powerful you can gain health while eating bullets on realistic (with so many batteries and recharge-bots that you can spam it regularly), stealth that is completely unaffected by lighting/shadow, retarded AI, no 'wrong' choices, hardly any diplomatic options, no dialogue skills whatsoever, easy-mode dragon-sword and easy-mode prod (that enables you to stunlock every single enemy in the game), and mostly linear dialogues with the very occasional (but completely cosmetic aside from getting more or less ammo) dialogue option?

And yes, Deus Ex is still my favourite game of all time.

But it was never a 'hardcore' title. Whatever criticisms may be valid for the franchise reboot, criticising it for not being 'hardcore' either is a bit silly.

No.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

he got you there Azrael try wriggling out of that one

 

[Archibald]

I`d like to know since when i became hardcore just because i can play old games.

 

[Silellak]

So this is the appeal to the 'hardcore' that we've been hearing about?

Shit, the way they hype this shows that it is about the only pseudo-concession to literate players that the game will have.

When did they ever say that they were trying to appeal to the 'hardcore'?

In fact, since when was Deus Ex ever a game aimed at the 'hardcore'?

Since when did 'appealing to the hardcore' mean cosmetic-only C+C (same dialogue at same time by different face!), ultra-easy combat even when playing on realistic, energy-recharge stations littered all over the latter half of the game so that you can spam your augs without worrying, absurd numbers of health kits and batteries even on realistic, health regen only 6 hours into the game that is so powerful you can gain health while eating bullets on realistic (with so many batteries and recharge-bots that you can spam it regularly), stealth that is completely unaffected by lighting/shadow, retarded AI, no 'wrong' choices, hardly any diplomatic options, no dialogue skills whatsoever, easy-mode dragon-sword and easy-mode prod (that enables you to stunlock every single enemy in the game), and mostly linear dialogues with the very occasional (but completely cosmetic aside from getting more or less ammo) dialogue option?

And yes, Deus Ex is still my favourite game of all time.

But it was never a 'hardcore' title. Whatever criticisms may be valid for the franchise reboot, criticising it for not being 'hardcore' either is a bit silly.

<volourn>
No.
</volourn>

Fixed.

 

[commie]

So this is the appeal to the 'hardcore' that we've been hearing about?

Shit, the way they hype this shows that it is about the only pseudo-concession to literate players that the game will have.

When did they ever say that they were trying to appeal to the 'hardcore'?

In fact, since when was Deus Ex ever a game aimed at the 'hardcore'?

Since when did 'appealing to the hardcore' mean cosmetic-only C+C (same dialogue at same time by different face!), ultra-easy combat even when playing on realistic, energy-recharge stations littered all over the latter half of the game so that you can spam your augs without worrying, absurd numbers of health kits and batteries even on realistic, health regen only 6 hours into the game that is so powerful you can gain health while eating bullets on realistic (with so many batteries and recharge-bots that you can spam it regularly), stealth that is completely unaffected by lighting/shadow, retarded AI, no 'wrong' choices, hardly any diplomatic options, no dialogue skills whatsoever, easy-mode dragon-sword and easy-mode prod (that enables you to stunlock every single enemy in the game), and mostly linear dialogues with the very occasional (but completely cosmetic aside from getting more or less ammo) dialogue option?

And yes, Deus Ex is still my favourite game of all time.

But it was never a 'hardcore' title. Whatever criticisms may be valid for the franchise reboot, criticising it for not being 'hardcore' either is a bit silly.

Why make it such a big deal then that in the game there is full text for your responses? Why focus on this if not to try and differentiate themselves from the more 'simple/retarded/casual'(take your pick) approach by Bioware?

DX is of course NOT hardcore when compared to a HPS wargame or something, but as a FPS it certainly is hardcore, or you think that it's at the level of Call of Duty?

 

[Forest Dweller]

Yeah it's a hardcore fps. Pretty good rpg too. Put them together and it's HEAVEN.

 

[Radisshu]

Yeah it's a hardcore fps. Pretty good rpg too. Put them together and it's HEAVEN.

How the hell is it a hardcore FPS? It's an FPS/RPG hybrid, that plays really well, but I wouldn't call it hardcore (the C&C, for example, would be pretty pathetic if it was a pure RPG).

 

[CrimHead]

 

[Lord Rocket]

What the fuck is a hard core fps anyway? The shooting was pretty faggy compared to eg. Doom or Quake.
Fuck I played MW2 recently and I died way more than I ever did in DX and MW2 is supposed to be the very definition of casual popamole easy fucking bullshit.

 

[poocolator]

I don't read previews for the information, anymore. It's all the same shit anyway. I read previews to make fun of the children writing them.

 

[Drakron]

What the fuck is a hard core fps anyway?

I would say Far Cry, it had a bullshit checkpoint save system (I triggered one when I was one bullet away from "game over" and guess what was about 10 feet from that save point?) THE FUCKING MONKEYS! (2 hit kill, scripted to rush into the player position), no health regen, no sticky cover system, few medpacks ...

 

[Miew]

Why make it such a big deal then that in the game there is full text for your responses?

Who says it's a big deal? It's not like they're advertising for the game with "FULL TEXT RESPONSES!" or something like that. =P
It's just a detail they pointed out in this preview, probably to fill up some space more than anything else.

I just hope that each way of solving a problem will be sufficiently difficult to make it feasible to go and maybe try another route first. If all the right dialogue choices are too obvious, and the skill checks are too easy, that'd be boring. I like the games where I constantly have to think "can I manage this?"
They should make it so that, for example, good weapons and ammunition or hacking tools or whatever, are rare enough that going out of your way in order to aquire some is something you'd want to do, even if there is some risk involved.
It's more exciting if you feel that you have to aquire something because you really want it, instead of just the game giving you the objective to do so.

 

[Reject_666_6]

I just hope that each way of solving a problem will be sufficiently difficult to make it feasible to go and maybe try another route first. If all the right dialogue choices are too obvious, and the skill checks are too easy, that'd be boring. I like the games where I constantly have to think "can I manage this?"
They should make it so that, for example, good weapons and ammunition or hacking tools or whatever, are rare enough that going out of your way in order to aquire some is something you'd want to do, even if there is some risk involved.
It's more exciting if you feel that you have to aquire something because you really want it, instead of just the game giving you the objective to do so.

Like they're ever going to implement something of this calibre. What we're probably going to get is some gratuitous non-linearity confined to each level, and at the end some kind of final decision with some slightly different final objectives just like in Deus Ex and Invisible War.

One thing that modern devs will never do is to spend time improving non-marketable elements from the previous games in the series. If feature X is the same as in Deus Ex, the fans "can't complain".

 

[MicoSelva]

Human Revolution</em> goes a step further by providing your full response at the bottom of the screen. That way, there's no confusion over what your character will say when selecting an option.

I would call that a step in the right direction, if only because I won't have to be reloading the game every fucking time that Shepard, or whoever, said something completely different than I intended him to say.
That will also kind of force actually having different responses in the dialogues - not ME-like three pseudo-options, all of which make Shepard say exactly the same thing.

 

[oscar]

Saving your brother helped the plot make more sense. Though I doubt many people would of disobeyed him and waited for the attack the first time around.

A lot of shit you did stuck around for a long time. Gunther's attitude and dialogue with you is dependent on what you do on Liberty Island. While not "game changing" C&C it was one of the many nice touches and instances of your actions (often seemingly trivial) not going unrecognised of Deus Ex and something many modern games (and even worshipped rpg's here) lack.

 

[chzr]

What the fuck is a hard core fps anyway?

I would say Far Cry, it had a bullshit checkpoint save system (I triggered one when I was one bullet away from "game over" and guess what was about 10 feet from that save point?) THE FUCKING MONKEYS! (2 hit kill, scripted to rush into the player position), no health regen, no sticky cover system, few medpacks ...

more liek raven shield.

 

[Lord Rocket]

I'd really like to hear from Dicksmoker about this.

 

[ChristofferC]

Deus Ex is "hardcore" because it has no quest compass and no automap and the graphics are old.